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| Connie Vandament ’53 |
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French Grad, From Espionage to Finance
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Connie Vandament
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With the chill of the Cold War dominating the political and cultural landscape of 1953, the optimism of the recent Post-War years had dimmed. Advances in science were tempered by the development of newer, larger nuclear weapons, and the threat of their use added measurably to the fear and uncertainty of the time.
For a young woman from Mohawk, Oregon, proudly brandishing her University of Oregon diploma, 1953 held immense promise and surprise. Constance Joan Ohlsen had done very well in college, majoring in French and French literature, and earning a Phi Beta Kappa Key. Her success drew the attention of her future employer—the CIA. “I really wanted to put my language skills to work, and I didn’t care to teach, she said. “So I decided to work for the government.”
The government gave her training and a new identity, and sent her off to Europe by herself. “It was so thrilling,” she said. “I went across the ocean by myself; I didn’t have any idea what was going to happen.” She was stationed in Switzerland—a year in Bern and two in Geneva—as “Janice M. Pavlides,” where she worked as an assistant to the Chief Economic Officer of the section. Asked what she learned during her time as a spy, Connie’s response, “how to keep a secret," was delivered with an air of intrigue—and followed by only a smile.
After her assignment in Geneva, Connie moved to San Francisco for her next post. Connie describes the late-1950s as ‘the scariest time,’ as a result of the escalation of tensions between the US and the former USSR. One major change she did not anticipate was the pace of American life. “Everything was too fast and frenzied,” she exclaimed. But it was another challenge she overcame.
It was not long after the Bay of Pigs, she says, that the agency’s focus shifted to the far east. This was not as interesting to her as was Europe, so after a couple of years, she left government work for the private sector, going to work for Vandament Engineering and moving quickly into the financial arena.
The shift from language to finance came naturally to Connie. “In a sense, they are both languages,” she says. “There are analytical aspects in each.”
At Vandament, she accepted another name change when she married the president of the company. Together, they helped build the Olympic Village at Squaw Valley, with Connie in charge of budget.
She became a CPA in 1971 and opened her own shop, Vandament Accountancy, which she moved from Mill Valley to Larkspur six years later. After twenty-five years there, Vandament says she still finds the work interesting and fun. “We have a good list of clients,” she says, “and there’s always plenty to do.”
Though leisure time is at a premium, Vandament still enjoys the thrill of travel. A few years ago, she revisited her old neighborhood in Geneva, recalling the excitement and adventure of those early years after graduation. Another happy return for this accountant: her trip to the University of Oregon last spring for her fiftieth class reunion.
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1245 University of Oregon • Eugene, OR • 97403-1245
(541) 346.3950 • FAX (541) 346.3282 • alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu
Copyright © 2003 University of Oregon
Updated November 4, 2003
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